Dead Girl Walking
by Light of the Dawn
Summary: With a rampant contagion spreading across the nations, unlikely allies must unite to overcome the chaos and uncertainty of a dangerous new world in which humanity falls where the dead rise. AU Total Drama in the Walking Dead Universe. Pairings TBD.
1. Suburban Blues

**No, it's not a trick! It's a Halloween treat from your truly!**

**I don't own Total Drama or The Walking Dead.**

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><p>Making his way down the street to their suburban home, he couldn't help sighing with frustration. His wife was increasingly on edge, and he couldn't help the growing temptations of avoidance and evasion when it came to going home after work.<p>

She was so high strung and he was starting to worry that she was slipping back into the way she was before - the way she'd been after their youngest had been born. She'd managed to recover from that, and she'd been good for so long. He'd almost tricked himself into believing that perhaps she'd be that way for good.

But the quality of his home life was getting worse each day. He couldn't blame his daughter for retreating into her room whenever she was home. He couldn't blame his son for his growing addiction to reality television. He didn't blame either of them.

Their mother seemed hell-bent on making both of their lives a living hell.

So lost in his thoughts, he didn't even notice the young man stumble out of a nearby alleyway. The man stood there as he walked by, stumbling after him for a moment before grabbing him from behind.

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><p>Pausing to take a deep breath before he started up the steps of the house he shared with his wife and their two – now teenage – children. The kid had given him a nasty bite but he was hardly concerned. A simple bite wouldn't kill him, no matter how much of his flesh the kid had sunk his teeth into.<p>

After a moment, he made his way inside the house. Taking off his shoes and placing them on the shoe rack, he was startled when he straightened and found his daughter standing in front of him, her blue-grey eyes stretched wide with concern.

"Hey darling," he began before his daughter cut him off.

"I'm so sorry. This never should have happened to you." She said, moving to her father's side and inspecting the bloodied bite-mark where he'd been bitten clean through his shirt. "When I sensed the darkness surrounding our family, I should have warned you."

"Don't worry," her father assured her. "This isn't anything for you to worry over. Now where's your brother?"

"In his room." She answered simply and her father nodded, giving his daughter a quick one-armed hug and a kiss on the forehead before making his way down the hallway to Topher's bedroom.

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><p>A knock on his door went unheard as the geeky guy fiddled with the settings on the DJ program on his computer, his noise-cancelling headphones blocking out all possible distractions. He missed the second knock as well as his name being called. It wasn't until the older brunette woman made her way into the boy's room that he realized someone was here to talk to him and he pulled his headphones off.<p>

"Your father and I have been talking,"

"Not again," The boy said as the woman closed the door behind herself and moved to sit on his bed.

"Yes, again." she said. "You're not doing yourself any favours, Cody. Your brother's off in college trying to make a career for himself and you're here – doing absolutely nothing with your life. Your father wants-"

"This isn't nothing, mom." he replied, irritated. "My videos are _just_ starting to get popular. I'm gonna be famous-"

"Please be realistic." his mother said. "This isn't a real job. It's getting harder and harder to convince your father – if you don't get a job and start doing something with your life, I'm not going to be able to keep convincing him to let you stay here."

"It was slow at first, but I'm making over two hundred dollars a month, mom." he insisted. "There are youtubers out there who make thousands of dollars a month and soon I'll be one of them!"

"Cody, youtube is _not _a real job." she said. "And I can't help you if you won't help yourself. Your _younger_ brother is off studying architecture so he can get a job after he graduates while you sit in your room all day and play games. You need to get a job and you need to get one soon."

Their mouths both set in a thin line, Cody did not respond. Taking this as a victory, his mother stood up and made her way out of his room, closing the door behind her.

Sighing aloud, Cody leaned back in his chair, his head tipped back as he stared up at the ceiling. He got at least two lectures from his mother and one heated argument with his father every week and it had long become tiring. But his parents didn't know what they were talking about. People _could_ get famous and make livings on youtube! They just didn't understand.

Staring up at the white ceiling above him, he ran his fingers through his hair. His life was frustrating beyond belief. His parents had no faith in him and they'd long made it clear that he was _not_ their favourite offspring.

It wasn't until he heard a tap at his bedroom window that he broke out of his trance.

Turning around in his black leather commander chair, he found someone he had certainly not expected to be crouched on the roof on the other side of the glass. Making his way over to the window, he pulled up the window and let his visitor inside.

"'Sup little bro? How's college life?"

"Mom and dad – have they been bitten?"

Cody couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Nope. And I haven't either."

"That's a relief." his brother said, ducking through the window and into his brother's bedroom. "We need to get going – are you any better with the machete I got you?"

"Yeah, definitely." Cody lied, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Wait, where are we going?"

"To a safe house." he said. "I was right – it has begun."

"What's begun?" Cody asked, staring at his brother for a moment, stunned.

"The zombie apocalypse." he said. "It's started."

"Shawn, there are no such thing as zombies." Cody said with a frustrated sigh. "I think you need to lay off the weed a bit, bro."

"I'm serious, Cody." Shawn insisted. "I just saw a zombie bite some guy he passed in the street. The apocalypse is starting, and it's starting now!"

"It was probably a robbery or a prank or something." Cody said, before repeating his previous statement. "Zombies aren't real."

Cody turned to go back to his computer when he brother grabbed his arm, turning him back to face him and holding him in place by both arms. "Do you hear yourself right now? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Do you hear _yourself_ right now?" Cody countered, exasperated. "Shawn, you're the best little bro a man could have but you have _got_ to get a hold of yourself. Zombies aren't real."

Shawn frowned. "Well don't you sound like Dad."

"What? No, I-"

"I thought you of all people would understand."

"Shawn, wait-" Cody said as his brother climbed out onto the roof.

"When you realize that I'm right, come find me."

"_I'm not__hing__ like dad_!" Cody yelled, leaning out the window after his brother, only to find the other boy had vanished from sight. "Shawn?"

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><p>Making his way through the front door of the house he shared with his two sisters he took a deep breath. Neither one was going to like what he had to say, but he was certain they'd understand. This was a thing he had to do. For all of them.<p>

As he walked into the kitchen, his twin gave him one look and knew something wasn't right. "You've got something on your mind."

"I've got news." he replied.

Nodding mutely, she pulled up a seat at their kitchen table, gesturing for him to take a seat as well. She was a very misunderstood individual. As much as she did have a temper problem, she did have a soft side. They'd known each other since birth and she knew him better than anyone, and vice versa.

She was a tough, prickly individual and she had few friends, whereas he was friendly and had several, even though most of them were his comrades. No matter how many people he got to know, how close they were to him, his twin sister would always be his best friend.

"Scarlett back from her dad's yet?" he asked, glancing around for their half-sister.

"Her train is delayed; she won't be here until nine." she answered, fixing her dark eyes on her brother. "Brick, start talking."

"Scarlett isn't going to like this,"

His sister looked relieved. "You're being located again?"

"The military is really concerned about this new disease that's been spreading," Brick said. "They're relocating a large portion of the force to near one of the more highly afflicted areas so that if things get out of control and people get violent, we're there to protect the citizens. But Scarlett's not going to-"

"Scarlett's sixteen. It doesn't matter if she's not happy – she doesn't support this family, she doesn't get a say."

"I know, Eva, but I still feel guilty about constantly shifting her around and interrupting her studies. She doesn't have many friends as it is and now she'll have to go and make new ones."

"She'll be okay." his twin assured him. "She's a lot stronger than you think. She just makes a big fuss because she doesn't like having to tear down her lab every time we have to re-locate. Once she gets everything set up again, she'll be fine."

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><p><strong><strong>Comments, questions and constructive criticism is always appreciated so please review.<strong> **


	2. Restless

**I don't own Total Drama or The Walking Dead.**

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><p>She could see the pain across his face as he pulled his shirt off over his head, so she set to work immediately. Gently, she dabbed at the wound with a clean, wet cloth, pulling out the stray strands of cotton that she came across that had been torn from his shirt when the kid had bitten him.<p>

The flesh around the wound was hot and tender, and the dark energy she could feel pulsing through not only her father's wound, but now his entire body, was making her feel increasingly nauseous.

Dipping the cloth into the bowl of warm water, she began to wring it out, taking deep breaths to avoid retching at the sight of the dark blood staining the water and the cloth alike. The way the blood was staining the water, with ribbons of red twisting and swirling through the crystal clear liquid, was making her stomach turn.

Squeezing her eyes closed, she wrung out the cloth once more and continued to dab at the wound to clean it. Beside her, her father was taking deep breaths, trying to nullify the pain of the cloth against his wound.

"I think you should see a doctor." Dawn managed to say as she rinsed the blood off the cloth once more, the once-clean water now stained an off reddish colour. The dark energy pulsing through her father's body was making her start to feel almost disoriented, and the entire situation was becoming increasingly dream-like.

"Don't worry," Her father said, his voice strained. But he didn't continue his thought. Instead, his entire body suddenly slumped forward and in the desperate movement to catch him before his body hit the floor, Dawn lost her cleaning cloth.

"Topher!" Dawn cried out, using her entire body to try and prop her father back up on his chair, but her small stature made it quite nearly impossible. Straining under his weight, she cried out again, this time louder and more desperate. "_Topher_, help!"

The distress in his elder sister's voice was enough to draw out the boy's curiosity and after a moment, he walked into the kitchen with his webcam, trailed by his ginger cat, Chef. "And here we have- oh, shit. What's going on?"

Realizing that this wasn't something fun for his vlog, he set the camera down on the counter – careful to aim it so it caught all of the situation that was currently under way – and grabbed his father's arm, lifting him up and off of his sister with a great deal less effort than his sister had needed to just keep their father off the floor.

"What's going on?" Topher repeated as he noticed the bloody wound on his father's shoulder and positioned his hands further from it.

"Dad was attacked." She explained. "On his way home from work. I think he may have been poisoned-"

"Mrrrdfff-" Their father said suddenly, his body stiffening.

"I think we should call an ambulance-" Dawn began.

"No." Her father said, although he still sounded a bit disoriented. "I don't need an ambulance."

He sat up straighter, this time on his own.

"This needs to be treated, I can sense the dark energy-"

"See Tophites? Prime example of my sister's weirdness. 'Dark energy'." Topher said, now talking into his camera once more. "Dad's bleeding, and all she can talk about is her weirdo magic stuff-"

"_Topher_!" Dawn said, distraught that her brother was not taking the situation seriously.

"What?" Her brother responded with a half-shrug. "Tophites have been asking about your hippy-dippy weirdness, and who am I to deny the people what they want?"

"Dad was _attacked_." Dawn said, her usually-mellow voice strained. "This is serious-"

"Dee, I'm fine." Their father said, taking a wheezy breath.

Topher gestured at the man. "See, he's fine."

"You're not fine." Dawn told her father. "This needs to be treated professionally. Topher, back me up here."

Topher shrugged. "All they'll do at the hospital is clean it and bandage it up, and you're halfway done already."

"I don't think-"

"Dee, leave it. Dad said he's fine." Topher said, before turning back to his camera. "Are all sisters like this, or just mine?"

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><p>"You worry too much." His sister said, shaking her head as he drove them both to the train station to pick up their sister.<p>

"But Eve-"

"No 'buts', Brick. Scarlett's a big girl, and she'll be fine."

Brick swallowed his anxiety – he didn't like displeasing either of his sisters, especially because when provoked, they both had nasty tempers. Scarlett was better at concealing hers, but when she let her temper go, she was a force to be reckoned with as much as Eva was.

The handle of the dark green 1988 eagle premier made a popping sound as Scarlett opened the rear door, and threw her duffel bag inside, before climbing in herself.

"H-hey squirt." Brick greeted, glancing back at his ginger-haired sister.

Scarlett adjusted her glasses before making eye contact with her brother in the rearview mirror. "You're being relocated again, aren't you?"

"Yes," Brick said with a nod, running his thumb over the key in the car's ignition. "How did you guess?"

"It was a matter of logic. The World Health Organization has been putting out alerts for weeks – although I'll admit I underestimated the military's response time."

"And you're not mad?" Brick asked, still watching her reactions in his rearview mirror.

"Quite the contrary. I've been hoping for an opportunity to access samples of the disease. I understand that the government's _most competent_ scientists are working on a cure," She adjusted her glasses in a very condescending manner. "But if we're entirely honest, the government's best is often not a good representation of even average intellect or ability."

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><p><strong>AN: This next segment has a trigger warning due to domestic violence and death.**

"You spiteful little-" her mother sputtered, grabbing one of Dawn's teacups from the table and throwing it onto the floor, the porcelain smashing and the hot green liquid splashing across the hardwood and beginning to soak into the rug.

After their father had regained consciousness, Topher had helped her move him to the couch, but then he'd vanished, presumably to his bedroom to continue filming content for his vlog. An ominous feeling had been hanging over her head since her father had come home from work, and despite having treated his wound, his condition didn't seem to have improved.

To counteract his rising temperature, she'd made him some herbal tea, peppermint to be exact. Peppermint was good for respiratory issues and had fever-lowering qualities, so it should help with his breathing, which had become somewhat laboured. Despite this, Topher and father, when he was lucid, had still insisted that he was just in shock when she suggested seeking medical help.

She'd been pouring the green-tinted liquid into two cups when she heard the front door open. There was a moment of dead silence first, like the silence before something awful occurs – the calm before a storm.

And then everything went to hell.

What had been a calm and collected explanation on Dawn's part was received with hostility and rage on her mother's. She'd been roughly nudged aside and dismissed before her mother began with the accusations.

But Dawn was too distracted by her father's health to pay heed to her mother's words. Leaning over, closer to her father, she put a hand against his forehead. His breathing was even more laboured than it had been only moments before when she'd gone to make tea for them both, and he was burning with fever.

"_Are you listening to me?!_" Her mother shrieked, grabbing a handful of the girl's long blonde hair and wrenching her backwards.

"Ow-ow-" Dawn cried out, her eyes watering as she desperately hoped her mother would release her soon.

"You evil, spiteful little bitch, you're trying to kill him, aren't you?!"

"I would never – I love Dad." Dawn cried. "They said – Dad and Topher said-"

"Don't drag my precious Topher into this, you nasty, vile _cockroach_." Her mother was spitting venom, and Dawn could see in her eyes that she wasn't even trying to grasp at the remnants of her sanity. Topher and Dad were the always the ones who soothed her temper because any response Dawn gave, whether apologetic or argumentative was usually met with increasing intolerance.

"But it's the truth – they both said -" Dawn began, but her mother cut her off with a resounding slap across the face, before shoving her backwards into the coffee table.

"_You nasty, spiteful, vindictive little girl._"

Dawn, having never been physically struck by either of her parents since they'd stopped using spanking as punishment when she was about five, was stunned. Almost falling backwards over the coffee table, she tried to regain her balance, one hand against the tender red welt across her pale flesh. She watched in silence as her mother turned to her father and unbound the bandage that she had been so careful to apply.

But Dawn wasn't focusing on the bandages, she was focusing on something far worse. Her throat tight and her eyes welling up with tears, she dropped to her knees, almost crawling forward to take her father's hand.

While her mother had been screaming at her, her father's increasingly laboured breathing had ceased entirely.

"No," Dawn said, her words catching in her throat.

Her mother rounded on her once more. "_Are you happy now?!_"

"What's all the yelling about?" Topher asked, making his way into the living room with his camera again, but when he saw the scene before him, he lowered his camera in an instant. "What's going on?"

"_Tophie_," Their mother said warmly, her aggression melting from her demeanour in an instant. "Did she do anything to you?"

"Who?" Topher asked, clearly confused. Focusing on his sister, sobbing on her knees next to the couch, his voice took on a seldom heard tone of concern. "Is Dad okay? Dawn?"

Moving to his sister's side, he crouched down and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I can't feel his energy." Dawn whispered.

"Tophie, come here." Their mother commanded, trying to mask the order with a sweet and gentle tone as she held her hand out for her son as though he was a little boy.

Topher glanced over at her and rolled his eyes. "I'm not a kid, mom. Dawn's not going to hurt me."

"You've turned my own son against me too?" Her words were like ice, and sent a chill down both siblings' spines. The rage response was instant, and she began screaming again. She lunged for Dawn's hair, but Topher got to his feet before his mother reached them.

"What's going on? Mom, chill out!"

Dawn stood up too, but almost immediately a wave of nausea and restlessness swept over her and she began trembling so violently that she had to grab onto Topher's sweater to keep herself upright.

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><p><strong><strong>Comments, questions and constructive criticism is always appreciated so please review.<strong> **

**Also, ****r****ea****ders may have some influence over the fates of their favourites, ****so be sure to voice your support of characters you ****want to keep alive ****and it may save them from certain death.**


	3. Delusional

**Here's hoping that this will be the start of some decently frequent updates for more than just this story for the rest of the summer!**

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><p>Laying on his bed, he stared up at the ceiling.<p>

Was Shawn – no. Shawn was wrong. He was nothing like their closed-minded, traditional-to-the-bone parents. He _couldn't_ be anything like them. Right?

No.

Shawn was _delusional_. Zombies weren't a thing.

Not believing in something that didn't even exist didn't make him like his parents.

Sighing in frustration, he swung his legs over the side of the bed. His parents were so proud of Shawn, their little _architecture_ major. The golden boy.

Were they still in denial about the real reason Shawn was studying architecture – so that he could personally design the most zombie-proof bunker? If it weren't for his delusions that the zombie apocalypse would soon be upon them all, there was no way in hell that Shawn would be studying architecture at university. In fact, Shawn wouldn't be studying anything at all.

He'd just be blowing all his money on weed and pizza, smoking up with Sierra and Brady in the latter's basement every night, just like he'd done in high school.

Zombies only existed in television shows and movies.

And video games.

He glanced over at the clock on his wall and almost flew to his computer. He was missing FlynnLuxe's livestream.

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><p>"Please, earth mother, look after my father-" Dawn began, but her mother cut her off.<p>

"I bet you _wanted_ him to die, didn't you?" Her mother's voice was barely above a whisper as she cringed, backing away from her eldest child. Her breath caught in her throat and her hands were trembling – she was on the verge of having another episode.

"You're a wretched little bit-"

"Mom!" Topher cut in, uneasy by how rapidly his mother's demeanour had shifted. They'd been dealing with their mother's bipolar episodes for years, but despite her having refused time and time again to take medication for her illness, he'd never seen her mood shift so quickly to aggression during an episode, even from a panic attack.

"She killed him, Tophie. Come away from her-"

"Calm down mom." He cut her off again, trying to speak in a soothing tone. "This is _Dawn_. She couldn't kill a mosquito if it gave her malaria."

Dawn gasped, her fingers still clutching her brother's sweater.

"Topher, we have to move. _Now._"

"Why? What-"

His sister didn't wait to give him an explanation, and shoved him further from the couch, herding him towards the archway that lead into the kitchen.

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><p>As FlynnLuxe's channel loaded, Cody saw the gamer pause and pull his headset up, taking it off one ear and glancing off-screen, presumably at a door. A muffled female voice called out, and FlynnLuxe shrugged, putting his hand on the raised side of his headset.<p>

But he didn't pull them down again immediately.

A thump, audible to the viewing audience sounded and the gamer turned with a look of confusion to look behind him. From the gamer's set-up video, Cody knew that behind his green-screen, there was a window.

Something about the slow, awkward rhythm of the thumps on the window made Cody uneasy.

"What the fuck?!" the off-screen female voice called, louder this time but still clearly in another room.

FlynnLuxe turned back towards his camera and paused for a moment. "I think I'm being swatted **[1]**."

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><p>Topher caught movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced back at his father, who was struggling into a sitting position on the couch.<p>

"He's alive!" Topher said, halting in place and wrapping an arm around his sister in a half-assed side-hug. "Dawn, you were wrong-"

"Topher, there's something wrong." She cut him off, her tone filled with desperation. "The energy – it's off."

"Come_ on_," he said, annoyed despite his relief. "Just cool it with the weird witch shit for a moment, will you? _Dad's alive_."

"_There's something wrong with his energy_."

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><p>The gamer took his headset off and raised his hands in the air, open to show that there was nothing of a threatening nature in his grasp. With one last glance at the camera with an annoyed look, there was a loud <em>thud<em>!

The streamer's attention shifted in the direction of his door, and his expression shifted to a look of confusion.

A man lurched into the frame, lunging for the gamer, who used his raised hands to push the intruder away. Wheeling his red and black gaming chair away from the desk, the background warped as his chair collided with the green-screen. The keyed-out background appeared suddenly with a sprinkling of static over anything remotely green as FlynnLuxe shoved the man out of frame, accidentally tearing down his green-screen in the process. The dull thud of metal slamming against drywall followed and the streamer leaned out of frame. He pulled back with a folded up tripod in his hands just as another person came at him.

As FlynnLuxe slammed the head of the tripod into the second attacker's face, Cody realized that neither of FlynnLuxe's attackers were in police uniforms, and neither appeared to be armed.

But there was something off about the way they moved. As the one that FlynnLuxe had pushed away lurched back into the frame, something round and black flew into frame and struck the second attacker in the head, a sickening crunch sounding as what Cody realized was a frying pan hit its target.

"I had it," FlynnLuxe told the wielder of the frying pan, followed by what sounded like a mostly insincere - "But thanks."

"Are you okay?"

"Tch, yeah." He smirked at the woman. "I'm _your_ keeper, remember?"

"That's what you think." A throaty growl sounded somewhere in FlynnLuxe's room and the woman's voice wavered. "C'mon."

The two disappeared and Cody heard a door close, leaving the two attackers in the room.

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><p>"Please, Topher. <em>Listen<em> to me." Dawn said, using all of her weight to try and push her younger but taller brother further from their father.

As their father stood up, Topher hesitated. His father _did_ look pretty out of it, but his sister was just being excessively melodramatic.

Their father staggered to his feet. But nobody ran to him. He took a single step and nearly fell over.

Topher tensed. His sister was definitely being excessively dramatic about this, but his father's eyes were _really_ bloodshot and he looked entirely out of it. Topher wasn't even sure that his father would recognize either of his children or his wife.

But still, it was probably just some kind of reaction to his injury.

The one he'd been sure wasn't actually that serious.

Dawn _was_ wrong. Their dad was fine. A little out of it, but otherwise fine.

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><p>It had to be a prank.<p>

It just had to be.

There was literally no other explanation for what had just happened before his very eyes.

Except Shawn's – No. Shawn's theory was delusional. Shawn was delusional. The whole zombies and weapons and self defence thing was ludicrous.

And the growling, gurgling attacker that was just standing around on FlynnLuxe's livestream was just an actor. Or a really unintelligent burglar.

No, he couldn't be a burglar. Because he'd be stealing FlynnLuxe's gaming console and livestreaming equipment instead of just standing around and mouthbreathing. If you could even consider the sound that the one attacker was making breathing.

But for some reason, Cody just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about this situation.

And when the second attacker finally stood up, with half of his face smashed in from having been hit with a frying pan and his head bent at an unnatural angle, the feeling intensified.

_It had to be a prank._

But as Cody watched the stream, he found himself starting to believe the legitimacy of what had just happened. FlynnLuxe never returned to turn off the livestream and the attackers never broke character – they just stood around, moving only when they heard noise.

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><p>The bloodshot eyes and disorientation was one thing, but when his father actually <em>growled<em>, Topher started to get just a little freaked out.

"Topher, we have to go." Dawn insisted. "_Something is very wrong._"

And as their father took a few unsteady steps towards them, Topher decided that it might be an idea to listen to his sister, even if she was into that freaky voodoo witch shit.

But when Topher took a step away from his father, his sister was wrenched away from him, scratching his arm and pulling it in a painful way in the seconds before she let go.

"_Demon_." Their mother hissed, gripping Dawn by the wrists and holding her between herself and her husband as she half-dragged her daughter to the other side of the room. "_Devil worshipper_!"

"This is just what we need right now." Topher quipped sarcastically as he backed away from his father, whose awkward strides seemed more like they were propelled by an attempt to not fall over than a genuine walk.

"_You__ summoned a demon to possess him._" His mother growled accusations into Dawn's ear, making the girl flinch.

"No, I-"

Dawn's protest was cut off by a rough shove from her mother, pushing her closer to her father. "_Take her! Take her back to burn in hell, demon._"

At the woman's shout, his father turned, giving a throaty growl when his bloodshot eyes took in his new prey – the woman and her daughter.

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><p>Cody never closed the tab. He started working on other things, like editing a new gameplay video for his own channel, but he never closed the tab he'd watched FlynnLuxe's livestream in.<p>

Because nearly two hours later, the two attackers were still just standing there in FlynnLuxe's bedroom.

He switched back to the livestream when he heard loud knocking – someone was pounding on a door like they meant business.

"Police! Open up!"

And instead of running for their lives and trying to climb out the window like Cody had expected from two attackers – they both lunged towards the door, snarling like rabid dogs. After a moment, the door opened and the two attackers were shoved back into the room. The police barged in with their guns drawn and when the two attackers failed to obey commands, one of the police officers fired a shot at one of them.

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><p>"<em>You summoned this demon! Now face <em>_it__!_"

"No, I didn't – please don't do this mother!" Dawn began to plead. "Please, I can see in your aura that you believe what you're saying, but please don't do this-"

"_Burn in hell, witch!_"

But as her mother pushed her closer to her father, who was still snarling like a wild animal, Dawn twisted out of her grip. Trying to sidestep out of the way of the man who used to be her father, her foot caught on the curled up edge of the living room rug and she ended up sprawled on the floor.

Her father lunged.

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><p>The shot hit the attacker in the gut and the attacker recoiled – from the force of the shot and not the pain. The attacker didn't even seem to notice that he'd been shot. Instead he lunged towards the police officer again, who fired a second shot, this time into his chest.<p>

The attacker didn't even seem to notice the bullet wound in their chest.

"_Get down_!" the officers ordered, but the two attackers didn't pay any attention.

And they both lunged towards the officers.

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><p>She had rolled onto her back and was using her legs to push him further away, but she only stood four feet, eleven inches in height and he was <em>heavy<em>. Or at least, he was heavy for the tiny blonde, who couldn't have weighed much more than a hundred pounds herself.

He was grabbing at her face and arms desperately, but it was clear that his brain wasn't functioning normally. His eyes were focused on her, his prey, and ignoring his surroundings and her reactions. If he'd been even close to a human mindset, he could easily have overpowered her.

And yet her using her arms and legs to put distance between the two of them was somehow keeping him at bay.

But from the snarling and uncoordinated grabbing at her face or other places he was trying to bite, it was clear that something was desperately wrong with him.

Her legs were trembling under his weight as he leaned further on her, still trying to get a grasp on something to sink his teeth into. She couldn't hold him up.

And then there was a shattering sound and pieces of china rained down on her and the snarling beast that had once been her father rolled off of her. Her brother stood over her, the shattered remains of their mother's favourite lamp in his hands.

Looking at what he'd done, he shrugged and tossed it away from them.

"I panicked."

And with that, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, still eyeing his now stunned father with a look of concern.

"C'mon, let's go."

* * *

><p>"<em>Police responded to a report earlier<em>_ today __that __a young man was attacked in his home by two __strangers." _A CBC news reporter said. _"__Police were shocked when they arrived on the scene of the crime and found __the two attackers still on the property. After failing to obey orders given by the police, the two suspects were arrested and taken into custody."_

"_They burst into my bedroom while I was gaming – I thought someone was playing a prank on me."_ The gamer – FlynnLuxe – was now on the screen, giving his testimony to the reporters, his civilian name on a graphic under his face.

"_At the police station, the attackers received medical attention for the injuries they sustained in their confrontation with the police. That's where they were diagnosed with a deadly virus that has been making big news in the U.S. with widespread reports that people infected with the virus re-animate after death. The Centre for Disease Control and the World Health Organization have released a list of preventative measures on their websites, and are urging people to follow them."_

As the reporter began listing off symptoms, Cody found himself stunned into silence.

It couldn't be real.

And yet here it was, making headline news.

Shawn was right.

The Apocalypse had begun.

Shawn hadn't been the delusional one after all.

* * *

><p><strong>[1] Swatting – an internet crime where someone calls 911 anonymously and reports a fake emergency. Ex, saying that someone at that address is being held at a gun point and a SWAT team would be dispatched.<strong>

**So I'm going to say right now that my portrayal of Dawn and Topher's mother's illness was badly done. I should have figured out all the details before I was three chapters in. I apologize and I desperately hope I haven't offended anyone with how awful it is. I'll do more research regarding these matters in the future, and avoid the awful cliche of having said individual involved in a toxic relationship dynamic.**

****Comments, questions and constructive criticism is always appreciated so please review.****


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